Fertilizer Factory

We've set up a fertilizer factory on site. Here is the raw ingredient (not the bumble bee!) : Bocking 14 Comfrey. The roots go down an amazing 20 foot and draw up all manner of goodness into their leaves. All we do is cut it every six weeks (which is a shame as it is so pretty and covered in bumble bees) and put into barrels with water. Six weeks later we have gallons and gallons of the foulest smelling, but wonderfully effective fertilizer. We are also using the leaves to mulch our tomatoes. Stinky, but makes for happy toms.

Turbo Planting with the Mini-Fox

Here Phil is at the end of a liesurely afternoon planting french beaqns. Liesurely as we are now the proud owners of a mini fox that takes four days of hard work on your hands and knees into something that can be done in 3 hours!

Its a seductive little machine and drew Paul and Jo into its magic. You can't help but be intrigued by it. I will try and get the little video to work. But here's a still of it with Fin giving a helping hand. It really changes planting from a chore to a day of fun!

Putting the Sunflower into Sunflower Vegetables

They've only been in the blocks for a couple of weeks and they are well cute. Phil is going to plant them at the bottom of the field in a row, they're gonna look stunning.

Green house getting greener

Tomatoes and chillis and peppers and basil are all planted on the left and cucumbers on the right. The grapes are fattening daily ad its all looking pretty lush in the greenhouse now.Here is how it looked a couple of weeks ago.

Salad Days

This week is our salad week. Getting them all planted is turning out to be an extremely arduous process. We also have caulis, cabbages and broccoli to plant too. Its gonna be a busy weekend. It is actually very pleasant work as it is both methodical and rewarding as planting things is always satisfying. Apart from sowing carot seeds which is just downright fiddley.

Meanwhile the garlic is doing amazingly. Baring in mind how litle rain there has been this month (driest April in 300 years) I cannot believe how big and strong they are. We are waiting for the onions to come up. Its always a joy to see their little shoots coming up! First potatoe shoots should be appearing imminently. They have been in for a fortnight so I rekon one more week and they will be making their presence known.

Foreign labourers at the patch

Well, we had the New Zealand delegates helping plant potatoes over the weekend with the crucial help of Rhiannon and Alec..and in the end of the final row, Mousey. We planted 10x100 foot rows of new potatoes (6 of Red Duke of York and 4 of Sharpe's Express) and used the potato ridger for the first time. I even took a little movie with a view to continuing my 'goldoni series' but the whole card sadly got wiped.

Thanks to all our helpers...can we have a bit of rain now please?

Sunflower Vegetables...The movie (1)

I thought I would try and bring you a truly mullti media experience from Sunflower Vegetables....so click here...Digging Down at the patch .... This is my first effort at putting a little film up here...but hey it was pretty straightforward so perhaps there may be more...and perhaps they might be of slightly more exciting things than a tractor digging in green manures! This does look like a Goldoni promotional video!!

Wazzawazzas of the mind

As Phil surveys his garlic the wazzawazzas of the future are being born......

(more wazza recipies to follow soon...and to those of you that do not know what a wazzawazza is you better invite yourself round to dinner!)

No Harlequins yet

There are literally thousands of ladybirds in the field. I've been checking and so far I haven't seen a single Harlequin. This is Harmonia axyridis which has been called 'the most invasive ladybird on Earth'. Its been recorded in the area (Woods Mill and Saddlescombe) so it is only a matter of time before it arrives....either which way....watch out you Aphids! You thought you could get away with drinking our Willow Sap...Well think again coz we are setting the beasties on you!

Spring has sprung!

Finally spring has sprung. It is warm and sunny and the pumpkin patch is abuzz with ladybirds and bumble-bees. Today Phil took down the green manures and dug them in ready for the first big plant which is in two weeks time. Meanwhile I was sent off to spread rock-dust which is not nearly as fun as driving tractors!!

Evening sunlight down at the pumpkin patch

Crop rotations are the latest obsession, as we are counting the days till the green manures come down and the veggies go in. Phil's plans have been slowly crystalising and its all now feeling very real. This photo was taken yesterday. I love the gorgeous sunlit evenings at the field.

Spring Willows

Three days later Phil had pruned 1,500 willows. Some had started to bud early, but with such a mild winter I guess it's not surprising. They are now all trimmed and should be nice and bushy for later this year.

I tried a bit of wicker work with the clippings....I think I need to keep practicing!

East to West and West to East

Here you can see the Garlic and looking the other direction, the green manures. Italian Rye Grass billowing in the wind and Field Beans growing big and strong. These will all get mowed and then dug in as soon as it is dry enough...so that won't be for a while then!

L’Aïl de Trois Acres

You saw it beeing planted...here it is two months later.....healthy and swaying in the January gales!